How does the Hamilton CCC half-way house closure affect Kingston?

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Late last spring, an individual, who wishes to remain anonymous, first brought the closure of the Hamilton Community Correctional Centre to my attention. Specifically, good corrections practices recommends that offenders at the half-way house stage be near their communities of origin so that they can receive support from family and friends as they transition back to life in the community. The closure of the Hamilton CCC has the potential of bringing some offenders from the GTA/Hamilton region, who want to return there, to Kingston. While I am confident in the professionalism and competence of the parole officers at the Collins Bay CCC half-way house, there is the possibility of an increased security risk resulting from the Minister’s decision to close the Hamilton CCC. It is this decision that I decided to investigate by writing the Minister.

I asked the Minister if Correctional Services intended to increase the number of halfway house residents in Kingston, and if he expected the Kingston halfway house to house residents relocated from Hamilton or the GTA. You can read the full text of the letter here:

Recently, the Whig-Standard published an article about Kingston City Councillor Dorothy Hector raising the concern of offenders from Hamilton to the Collins Bay Institution half-way house in Kingston. You can read the article here:

What I can say is that when I met with officials at Collins Bay Institution on July 2, they were very helpful and informative and told me that 22 of 38 beds were occupied on that day, with 4 of those 22 people from outside our region. It would be helpful to monitor this number and I am glad that Councillor Hector has raised her concerns.